More User Reviews:

Hazy to cloudy deep brown, beautiful looking brew complete with a 1 finger of off white foam and pretty lacing.

Smells of candi sugar, pitted fruits, toasted malt that is almost smokie, booze.

Toasted malt and fruits are up front, gets a bit sweet from the candi sugar, an inherent booziness in the taste(heck, it's called Winterscotch), finishes slightly bitter with more booze.

The foam has subsided but it's still nice to look at. I see the abv is at 9.5% abv but to me, it drinks stronger and so I need to slow this session and review down a bit.

Initial thoughts are that I'm going to score this on the low side as I have done with most beers of the style, which I am taking as Wee Heavy based on the name/label and how it is listed on the brewery website. Waiting and slowly sipping will perhaps bring out my palate familiarity and maybe something nice will happen to change my mind.

Medium bodied in general, a tad too much carbonation for my palate, the mouthfeel is only okay.

All right, I have given Canaster every chance I can to shine for me and it doesn't. It's not a terrible brew, it just does not inspire me to think aboot buying another bottle. Oh well, it has it's fans and that's cool. (1,255 characters)

Poured from a capped 750ml into a Fin Du Monde tulip glass. Firm pour evokes a myriad of very fine bubbles that settle quickly to an uneven skim. What remains of the head seems to cling to the side of the glass quite well. Color is a deep murky ruby brown.

Nose- Admittedly this was poured a little cold. A deep and powerful essence of raisins, figs and dates. Alcohol is prominent in the nose along with notes of burnt caramel.

Palate- Dark fruits, vanilla, coffee, coco and burnt caramel. Individual flavors are identifiable but not over powering. Slightly cloying, lasting notes of vanilla. Very good. Exceedingly dry finish with no hints of booze.

Mouthfeel- Dry, very active, slightly cloying.

Drinkablilty- Find yourself a fire and curl up with this fine sipping brew. (800 characters)

L: Pours brilliant dark chestnut under a 3” cream colored foam cap that dissipates to a thick, clingy film. S: Has a yeasty aroma with rich malts, fresh bread, bread crust and kettle sugars. T: Initial malty sweetness finishes lightly tart. Complex layers of malt include bread, bread crust, kettle sugars, light caramel and spicy grains. Traces of fruit – plum and a little raisin and a slight wine note. F: Very creamy, smooth and soft in the mouth. Has above average natural carbonation with slightly above medium body. Slight alcohol warming. O: A little more fruit than typical and a slight wine character but this is probably due to the abv. More caramel flavor may be due to the grain bill. (705 characters)

Gushing, seeping bottle, had to pour quickly, but I've seen worse. Dark opaque brown with a little light coming through at the bottom. Floating sediments. Lots of upcharging bubbles on the perimeter. Flattish beige head of 1/2 an inch. Sheets of lace, but incomplete on the glass. Decent aroma, figs and dark brown sugar, no real yeastiness. Plenty carbonated in early sips, mouthfeel about medium and not particularly sticky. Sweet and full flavor, not as fruity as I anticipated, slightly spicy with nutmeg and showing elements of rum-soaked raisins and molasses with a bitter catch of dry husky hops to the back side of the profile. Finish is as full as the beginning, maybe a bit lacking in complexity. If you let this sit and sit, the carbonation evens out, initially it comes of as a bit much in the stomach. Overall, an interesting beer. (844 characters)

75 cl bottle shared with my wife at the Brugs Beertje in Bruges. The beer poured a deep, dense brown body with a thick off white head, solid lacing. The aroma of the beer was malty and citrus. Nice. The taste was malty up front with some slight sweetness, some other fruit notes. There was a nice carbonation body to this beer. Well rounded. (341 characters)

2/11 @ Julians. Pours deep caramel ruby with minimal tan lacing. Looks thick. Aroma of dark fruits, cherries, caramel, candied sugar, and wine. Taste has strong sour cherry notes, with dark fruit and yeast. Has medium-high carbonation. Less thick than it looks. Clean finish. Overall, this is a good beer, but it lacks complexity and the taste doesn't live up to it's aroma or appearence. (388 characters)

Bought very recently (Bestway in Greensboro, NC) but this was bottled on Dec. 3, 2007, so it has a little over 4 years of age on it. Comes in a neat paper wrapper, which sort of sold me, but really I was just looking to try a Belgian that was new to me. (btw, this bottle says 9.5% Alc/Vol.)

Pours a crackling dirty-white/light-tan head. Starts huge each pour, dies quickly each pour. And I'm pouring a little at a time as this is one of those that, while not a gusher, sees the foam rising in the bottle like a thing possessed. Color is an opaque, milk chocolaty dark brown.

Aroma is potent, and reminds me of how blown away I used to get when I was discovering Belgians years ago. Candied dark fruits (raisin, date); super-earthy yeast (but not funky); mineral hints; holiday/pie/sweet spices. And so ridiculously Belgian.

I wonder if the beer has lost something over the years? I "get" the basic taste profile, but it all seems a bit washed out, or pale, or distant somehow. Just traces of everything the big aroma promises (the dark fruit; the yeast; the mineral; the spiciness). Not overly sweet, and really pretty balanced all around, except for the too-dominant mineral taste. It's even good, just seems to lack that pizzazz of a truly great Belgian Strong Dark Ale.

Same with the feel, which is bubbly with spritz, but generally feels a little on the thin side. It's nothing terribly detrimental, although something a little rounder and slightly thicker would have probably helped the taste.

It's really the nose that impresses me most on this, and though the taste is fine, the fact that it doesn't quite follow through with the energy and liveliness of the aroma makes it less memorable in the end. Glad to have tried it. (1,738 characters)

A winter warmer. Pours with a huge head. Mild tabacco and smoke aroma. The scotch is a purposeful butterscotch and chocolate and fig flavour. Lovely after fish.Smooth drinking,good medium plus mouthfeel, suitably carbonated. not something for every night, but good for a cold night. (282 characters)

This was a slow gusher, sending a steady stream of rocky angry bubbles up through the neck of the bottle. Mauve taupe body with a wheat colored head, dusted and speckled with chocolate and sepia (yeast?). The foam is creamy, dense, and persistent, though lacking the volume and texture you would normally expect from a BSDA. Thick sandy lacing bookended by varnish-like legs. Chunky sediment lurks along the bottom of the glass like a school of jellyfish.

Rich carmelized malt aromatics with hints of cinnamon, and vanilla. Faint chocolate and coffee notes emerge as the beer warms.

Light toast, currants, soda bread, and rye join sweet sourdough starter, roobois, and smooth alcohol esters into the full peppery finish. There is an underlying floral element reminiscent of jamaica or chicha morada throughout. Could do with a little roast or smoke flavor, but is otherwise wonderfully balanced and subtle.

Full bodied, rich, creamy, with excellent carbonation and nice warmth from the ABV. Not as effervescent as many a BSDA, but more active than most wee heavies...

A unique Belgian twist on a Strong Scotch Ale, this is a hybrid that works quite well, showing that De Glazen Toren is capable of transcending tradition even while digging into the mysteries of the past. (1,467 characters)

A- Poured into a snifter. Be careful when popping the cap on this one, a lot of foam gushed out immediately but was under control after I poured some in a glass. I have had this same gushing problem with other beers from this brewery as well so it seems to not be limited to this bottle. Pours a dark brown color with a light tan head that possesses amazing lacing and retention.

S- The aroma is loaded with sweet bready malt, brown sugar and caramel with just a touch of hops. This is a very nice malty aroma that I could sit and smell all evening.

T- The taste like the aroma is deliciously malty with dark overripe fruits, candied sugar and caramel. This beer is so incredibly smooth and delicious!

M- The mouthfeel is perfect! Medium bodied with a wonderful mouthfeel and a perfect amount of carbonation.

D- Despite the high ABV, this one hides the alcohol dangerously and is a very easy drinker. Overall, I really enjoyed this beer. Highly Recommended! (976 characters)

Pours a very hazy brown color. There is a lot of yeast present which made opening the bottle very interesting. I only opened the cap enough to hear the fizz and poured the whole beer that way to avert a foam over, and there was still a ton of foam.

Aroma includes syrupy pancakes and fruit. The character suggests a lot of grape and grain, though I am pretty sure there were no grapes used in the brewing of this beer. There is even a little melon in the smell.

I find the flavor very pleasing. The flavor has a caramel sweetness combined with a touch of tart and very mild spice character.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly flat, but when pouring a beer through a cap to avoid a disaster much of the carbonation will go away. This isn't a bad thing though. The beer has a little tingle left and is very soothing and smooth. (819 characters)

750 ml bottle, bottled on Feb. 28, 2008. The wrapping says the ABV is 8.7%, but the label says 9.5%. This brew was a gusher, a couple seconds after opening the bottle a good amount of foam slowly gushed out. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown with about an inch cola-like carbonated tan head which would have been larger if I poured the beer into the glass as soon as I opened the cap. Head retention is decent, but not much lacing. It smells like caramel malt, dark fruit, candy sugar and a bit of chocolate and licorice. The taste is similar to the aroma, but with the dark fruit flavors being the strongest. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's well carbonated (a bit too much carbonation for my liking) and also a bit coating. Drinkability is good, it's smooth and enjoyable. Overall a pretty decent brew. (815 characters)

Bottle courtesy of Secret Santa: Poured a deep brown color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and minimal lacing. Aroma consists of fruity sweet ester with some dry fruits and some candi sugar. Taste is also a very nice mix between some dry fruits such as figs and raisins as wall as sweet fruity ester that are totally perfect for the style. Full body with limited filtration with some perfect carbonation and no discernable alcohol. Very complex but easily drinkable at the same time, definitely a beer that I would like to have access to regularly. (564 characters)